Electric switch



E. H. JACOBS.

ELECTRIC SWH'CH.

APPLICATION men APR. 26, m2.

1 1 93,695 Patented Aug. 8, 1916.

'2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Witmesses: Enventnr:

E. H. JACOBS. moms swncn. APPLICATION FILED AHL 26; 1912 1,193,695.Patented Aug. 8,1916.

/;] 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Inve fltDT; Ernest H.Ja00bs,

His flttnrnev necessary strength and ERNEST JAGOBEF, OF SCHENECYRADY,

YQRIQ ASSIG-IJOR Ti) GENERAL ELEG'IEIG COMPANY, A CORPORATION 0]? NEWYORK.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

Original application filed March To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EnNns'r ll. JAcons, u citizen. of the United States,residing at Schenectady, county of Schenectady, State of New York, haveinvented certain new and llSQll Improvements in Electric Switches, oiwhich the following is a specification.

This application is cation filed March (313,376.

My invention and more particularly which the movable contact straightline motion.

In oil switches as usually conch-mated, the leads of the circuit tolie-controlled are cured to fixed contacts mounted in suitableinsulators l i hen the circuit is to he closed, the fixed contacts areelectrically connected by :1 hriailging contact controlled byoperating); mechanism ii ich generally mounted above or to one i. of theswitch and. which some project over the too of the *itch between theleads git-the circni oe con "lied. "l 'he opertin q' niecionisni and thenrts th of which. extend between the lcude are more of metal to secureWe division of my applirelates to electric switches to oil switches, 111should have it between. the buds ol the circuit must he so great thatthose metallic portions ol the op erating mechanism which are betweenthe leads will. not cause a breakdown from lend to the other. Many ofthe parallel motion operating niechzmisms for conn clling the movableContact to move in a straight line are objectionable because certainparts of the IfiQCllftlllSli'l are in between the leads or the fixedcontacts, and the. lczuils of the circuit must he spaced so for apartthat the i'loor m nce occupied hy the ewitc i too great. v

"The chic-2t of my in. improved switch which adapted "for controllingeirci'uts carrying large :unounts of energy; in which the mov- :iblecontact given a straight line motion by means of u n; Lillel motionoperating niechnnisui mounted to one side of the switch and having on:ictimting arm of minimum width projecting over the top of the switchbetween the leads. so that the lateral dimensions of the metallicmembers between leads entice to provide an particularly Specification ofLetters Patent.

9th, 19H, Serial No;

therefore the space.

in the position ready to again Patented A11 8, 1916.

9, 1911, Serial No. 613,376. Divided and this application filed. April26,

Serial No. 693,402.

is reduced to it minimum; in which the pivots, llnks and other bulkyparts of the parollel motion mechanism are placed so far away from thelive parts oi the switch that tie mechanism does not have any tendency 0cause breakdown from one live part to another; in which the movablecontact is posi tively guided in substantially a straight line so thatit works easily and drops away from the fixed contacts quickly andcannot swing out of ulinement with the fixed. contact; and in which theoperating ineclmnisin of the Enritch is thoroughly protected from theweather and from injury, but may be easily inspected when desired.

Another object oi my invention is to proiide an operating; mechanismwhich will permit the switch to open inde 'iendently of the position ofthe handle or other operating member in case conditions upon the circuitare abnormal when the switch is closed and which will trip with greaterease and :er tuinty than devices of this kind heretofore usedrparticularly where the switch is large and the force transmitted throughthe operating nieeimnisni great liL invention will best be understood inconnection with the accompanying drewine e, which merely for purposes ofillustration show some ol? the rious forms in which the invention may heembodied and in which .l""i "ure 1 a View partly in. section a form oilswitch which particularly adepted to control high POlJOfltliLl circuitscarrying great quantities oi energy and in which the movable Contact isautomatically released from the handle in case of overload andmechanism, Fig. Zshoiving' the parts in the position assumed by tl einwhen the switch clo. Fig. 1-3 a view oi the some EEC/112k nisni Ell torit has been tripped :ultomzitically; and Fig. l is a view of the somemechanism close the switch.

Fig. 1 shows it torm oliswitoh embodying my invention and well adaptedto control circuits in which the potential is high and in which theamount of energy flowing is great. in this particular form of switch onoil tonic l contnin .i; a snllicient onioimt of oil tem of to submergethe contacts of the switch stands upon the floor of the station and isprovided with a cover 2, preferably consisting of two portions separatedby a comparatively narrow gap. In each of said portions there is aninsulator 3 having a central conducting rod with its upper end connectedto a lead of the circuit to be controlled and its lower end secured tosome suitable form of fixed contact, such as the contact a shown indotted lines and mounted in a pressure retaining chamber which confinesthe oil put under pressure by the arc and directs the oil against theare to eXtinguish it. The circuit is controlled by means of a bridgingcontact 5 which moves into and out of engagement with the fixed contactson the lower ends of the insulators 3 and which is carried by aninsulating rod (3 with its upper end extending above the surface of theoil in the oil vessel 1. The rod (3 is moved up and down by somesuitable form of parallel motion operating mechanism having an arm whichextends between the insulators 3 and which is connected at one end tothe upper end of the rod 6. In the particular arrangement shown, theforce for moving the parallel motion operating mechanism is transmittedto the operating mechanism through a sysinterconnected rods and bellcranks from some suitable operating member such as the handles 7 mountedupon any convenient and suitable support such as a panel 8.

In some cases the switch actuating mecha nism is mounted upon a supportwhich is independent of the oil tank and contacts of the switch, but isfixed in some suitable relation thereto, so that the operating arm ofthe mechanism will project between the leads going to the switch andwill move be tween the leads and parallel to them for the purpose ofoperating the movable contact. In such cases the parallel mot-ionmechanism for moving the operating arm should be as compact as possibleso that the floor space occupied by the switch and its actuatingmechanism shall be reduced to a minimum. In the preferred construction,illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4;, some suitable support- 9 is providedon which the various parts of the parallel motion operatin mechanism aremounted. In the particular form of mechanism shown, a switch actuatingmember suitably journaled or mounted on the support 9 and comprising arock shaft 10 is provided with a rigid extension or arm 11 which formspart of the parallel motion mechanism. To the outer end of the arm 11pivoted a link 12 which forms part of the parallel mot-ion mechanism.and is pivoted at its outer end to an arm 13 to which the movablecontact of the switch is connectet and by which the movhigh velocity and.talct,

able contact is actuated. One end of the arm 13 is pivotally connectedto a link 14 mounted upon a suitable pivot 15 on the support 9. As therock shaft 10 is moved the link ll is swung on its pivot by means of aguiding toggle 16 which is connected through an actuating link 17 to thearm 11. The various parts are so proportioned that as the arm 11 rocksabout the rock shaft 110 as an axis, the arm 13 is moved up and down toopen and close the switch and owing to the action of the guiding toggle16 the-link ll and arm 13 are so moved that the end of the arm 13 andthe movable contactconnected to it, move in a straight line.

During the opening of the switch the movable contact attains acomparatively some sort of yielding or resilient stop should be providedto stop the downward movement of the movable contact without causingexcessive strains or jars, and also to store up energy which will assistthe operator to close the switch. A spring 18 is connected at one end bya pin 19 to the link 12 and is connected atthe other end by a pin :20 tothe support 9, the

parts being so proportioned that as the arnr the switch, the andyieldingly stops the downward movement of the con- The stretched springalso assists in closing the switch.

he actuating member of the switch mechanism also comprises an arm 21rigidly secured to the rock shaft 10 and an operating member 22, whichis loosely mounted on the rock shaft and is movableindependently of theactuating mechanism by an operating handle controlled by the operator.

In many types of switches, the switch mechanism is preferablydisconnected from the operating handle or member when the conditions onthe circuit are abnormal so that. for instance, it is impossible for theoperator to hold the switch closed on ovcrload. In order to attain thisresult- I provide between the operating member and the arm 21 of theactuating member of the switch mechanism, some form of colla connectionwhich normally forms va and positive connection between the two membersbut which under definite and predetermined conditions will collapse andper-- mit the members to move independently of each other. Various formsof collapsible connections may be used, but the preferred constructionis that shown, which is particularly adapted for use where the switch islarge and the amount of force to be transmitted through the connectiongreat.

tion the operating member 29 is connected to the arm 21 through anormally undersct toggle consisting of a link 23 connected to the arm 21through some suitable lost morigid In this preferred form of collapsibleconnee mes es tion connection such as a pin :24; which enters a slot inthe end of the link B, so that. the link can move to a certain extentindependently of the arm 21, and of a second linlt 25 pivoted to thelink 23 to form a normally underset toggle which always tends tocollapse. In order that the underset main toggle 23-25 may normally beheld rigid, but at the same time will be in condition to collapse 'uponthe occurrence of overload or other abnormal conditions on the circuit,some suitable device such as a sensitive form of locking toggle isprovided for holding the main toggle extended. In the par ticular formof mechanism shown in the drawing, the link extends beyond the pivot 26and at a point beyond the pivot provided with a pin 27 on which ismounted one link 28 of the locking toggle. The other link 29 of thelocking toggle has one end connected to the middle of the link 28 andthe other end mounted on a pivot 30 secured to the (merating member 'l.he locking toggle 28-29 is also normally undcrset and is held againstcollapse by a latch F t-mounted on the pivot 30. The latch PM has nearone end a notch or other suitable means for engaging the free ond'o'tthe link :28 and near the other end a projection 33, which, when theswitch is in the closed position, is in alinelnent with the core of anelectroresponsive device, such as an overload coil or solenoid 34;.

In order to taeilitate straightening out t ic main toggle KP-25, therock shatt 10 is provided with an arm or projection 35 which isconnected through a spring 36 to the operating member 22, this springbeing so proportioned that it tends to straighten the main toggle 23 25.

\Vhere the movable contact arreaae its downward movement by a spring bunsuch as the spring 18, there is a tenth icy tor the contact toreluun'nt, and some able latching mechanism provided which will catchthe operating mechanism a* the switch opens and hold the swi ch in theopen position. Tt is desirable that the latching mechanism beauton'iatically ci'introllcd by the movement of the operating l'nechaniincident to the closing of the switch, so that the catch will beautomatically moved to release the switch as soon as the operator begins to close the switch. in inc preferred construction the switch' iscauglt and held open by means of a latch or deter mount ed on thesupport 9 in a position 1.. actuate and engage the end of the arm 21 asthe switch opens, this latch being provided with :1 lug or projection38, so arranged that as the operator begins to close the switch bymoving the operating member "22, the lint: 23 of the main toggle moves ashort distance independently of the arm. 21 and during this independentmovement the end of the l engages the lug 38 and forces the latcl 57down, thereby re easing the arm :21 so that the switch is tree and canbe closed.

When the switch is closed the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 3,vhere the main toggle 2325 is prevented from collapsing by the lockingtoggle 28---2 which in turn is held against collapse by the latch 31. Ifan overload or any other abnormal condition appears on the circuit thecoil 34; is energized, the latch. 31 is moved and releases the other endof the link 28 of the lockin toggle, thereupon the locking togglecollapses and permits the main toggle to collapse so that the actuatingmember of the switch can move independently of the main operating memberand the parts then move to the position shown in Fig. 3 as the switchopens. In order to close the switch t is necessary that the operatormove the operating mem her in sucn a way that the members :22 and iiiare again locked in rigid relation to eachother, and this result isacctnnplished by moving the operating member 22 to the position shown inFig. t. by which movei'nen't the main and lochiiw toggles arestraightened out and are held in the extended posi tion by the latch 31engaging the eiid oi the linkQS, whereupon the operating member and t 1eactuating member are rigullylocked to each other and the switch can beclosed by means ot the operating member It the overload is still on thecircuit or other abnormal conditim'is appc: r during the clos-- in? ofthe switch, the coil 34. is energized as the contacts of the switchtouch, whereupon the latch 2- isagain actuated and the switch less oi":the position ot the open r reg; c

handle and of the operating memnvei'ition may be embodied in other formsthan those shown and described, and therefore do not limit;- myinvention to the precise arrangement disclosed in this applitat-ion, butaim in the appended claims to coverv all modifications which are withinthe spirit and. scope of my invention.

\Vhat I claim new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStatesis 1.. In an actuating mechanism for electric switches, thecombination of a switch actuating iemher and an operating member mountedto be movable relatively to each other, a collapsible connection betweensait members for transmitting tori-"e from one member to the other, alocking toggle for normally preventing the collapse of said connection,said toggle comprising a. link pivoted at one end to said connection, asec- 0nd line pivoted to said operating iember and to said first linkends thcrcot, and a pivot ct said second 1 end of said ll preventcollapse.

at a point between the 2. In an actuating mechanism for electricswitches, the combination of a switch actuating member, an operatingmember, a normally underset collapsible main toggle connecting saidmembers, a locking toggle pivoted to said main toggle and to saidoperating member for normally preventing the collapse of said maintoggle, and a latch piv oted on said operating member to engage one ofthe links of said locking toggle and thereby preventcollapse of bothsaid toggles.

3. In a switch actuating mechanism, the combination of a switchactuating member and. an operating member mounted to oscillateindependently of each other about a common axis, a normally positivecollapsible connection between said members having a lost motionconnection with one of said members to permit a limited movement of saidconnection independently of said member, and a detent mounted to engagesaid switch actuating member and hold the switch in open position and tobe moved into position to release said switch actuating member bymovement of said connection incident to closing of the switch.

4. In a switch actuating mechanism, the combination of a switchactuating member and an operating member mounted to rock about the sameaxis, a main toggle having one end connected to said operating memberand the other end to said actuating member, a locking toggle having oneend pivoted to one link of said main toggle and the other end pivoted onsaid operating member, a latch pivoted on said operating member tocooperate with one of the links of said locking toggle, and meansresponsive to abnormal conditions on the circuit controlled by theswitch for moving said latch and thereby permitting both said toggles tocollapse and said members to move relatively to each other.

In an actuating mechanism for electric switches, the combination of aswitch actuat ing member, an operating member, a collapsible' maintoggle connecting said members, a locking toggle operatively related tosaid main toggle for normally preventing the collapse of said maintoggle, and electromagnetic means for controlling the collapse of saidlocking toggle.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 25th day of April,1912.

ERNEST H. JACOBS. Witnesses IIELEN Onronn, BENJAMIN B. HULL.

